Molybdenum(V) chloride-catalyzed amidation of secondary benzyl alcohols with sulfonamides and carbamates

A general and selective method for the direct amidation of secondary benzyl alcohols with both sulfonamides and carbamates is described. This method has been applied to a variety of substrates and the reaction proceeded smoothly at room temperature in the presence of 5 mol % molybdenum(V) chloride to give the desired products in good yields.